May 5, 2000

The 'Argument Culture' in Academe

To the Editor:

I want to commend The Chronicle for publishing the essay by Deborah Tannen ("Agonism in the Academy: Surviving Higher Learning's Argument Culture," Opinion, March 31). I have been telling my students the same thing for 30 years, based on my observations of cultural differences, the role of melodrama as a defining perspective in U.S. culture, the competitive culture of North America, and media studies. It is about time that more North American